FRED MUST ONLY TALK TO "AEI"-APPROVED OFFICERS

McClatchy has a much different report on what American officers think about reconciliation.

Despite violence drop, officers see bleak future for Iraq
By Leila Fadel McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Wed, August 15, 2007

BAGHDAD — Despite U.S. claims that violence is down in the Iraqi capital, U.S. military officers are offering a bleak picture of Iraq’s future, saying they’ve yet to see any signs of reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims despite the drop in violence.

U.S. officials say the number of civilian casualties in the Iraqi capital is down 50 percent. But U.S. officials declined to provide specific numbers, and statistics gathered by McClatchy Newspapers don't support the claim.

The number of car bombings in July actually was 5 percent higher than the number recorded last December, according to the McClatchy statistics, and the number of civilians killed in explosions is about the same.